Attic24

Counting Down

Before I start rambling away today, I really first of all want to say a huge big ((ThAnK yOu)) to you for all the lovely, wonderful things you had to say about my Advent Garland last week. I'm really happy you like it as much as I do.

It's one of those things that actually turned out far better in real life than in my (rather muddled) imagination. And I do think it's also one of those things which will become a definite Festive Family Tradition in the Attic24 house. A year-after-year thing which will see us counting down the days to Christmas for years to come. And that makes me reeeeeeeeeally happy to think of that.

In fact, I was thinking that exact thing as I was busy finishing off all the button-back circles over the weekend. Making those little stitches and hoping I'll love this creation of mine as much next year as I do this year. Hoping the Little People will love it as much too, that it'll become part of their childhood memories of Christmas.

They seem to be enjoying the whole Advent Thing a great deal this year and are fascinated with counting down the days, so my Garland is proving very effective as well as decorative.

How many sleeps until Christmas? Count the stars!

Advent is really well under way now isn't it?? Already the 7th day (17 stars to go), my-my, I can hardly catch my breath with it all at the moment.

I've been busy these last couple of days Shopping :: shopping for baby-related things and shopping for Christmas related things. I am still desperately behind with it all, beginning to feel a little pressure, and disappointingly also suddenly finding myself very, very weary doing normal every day things. I'm feeling slow and heavy and frustrated to be perfectly honest.

But......it's OK, I just need to adjust my pace, need to slow myself down, need to start resting up more.

So hard though! So hard when I have so many plans, when my creativity is so sparky, when Clutter Mountain is still so high, when Christmas is so close, when Bump24 is so...well not so far from being ready to land!

 

Hoping to Deck the Halls here at Attic24 this coming weekend, and I really do need to get the place shipshape in preparation.

So this week, my plan is to try and ignore the powerful urge to constantly create (my lampshade is half-way decopatched, my quilt is screeeeeaming to come out of my imagination and into reality, my snowflake garland needs to be constructed etc etc) and try and go forth a little further up Mt Clutter.

Needs must and all.

Will see you all when I'm at the Summit, hopefully towards the end of the week.

Toodle-oo for now!

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Giving Thanks

I really wish that we celebrated Thanksgiving Day here in England, it seems to me such a lovely thing to celebrate!

I love the idea of having one special day in a year where we give thanks for this precious life we are living and for all that we have.

I do often find myself Giving Thanks mind you, I am not one to take my good life for granted. I am generally mindful of the present moment, happy to be so Happy being Me and doing simple me-things.

I Give Thanks for the many little itty-bitty things throughout each and every day that bring pleasure, that make me smile, that inspire me.

I Give Thanks for the fact that I have so much Love in my life, which makes my heart happy and light.

I Give Thanks for my creativity, for my joie-de-vivre, for the simple good fortune that surrounds me.

Wishing you all a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving :: here's hoping you are happy and content where ever you are and whoever you are sharing your today with.....

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ps todays heart pictures all come from greetings cards that I have collected over the years...one day I'll get round to framing and hanging them. One day.

Friday Thinking

Thinking about the weather :: in my little part of North Yorkshire, the weather and the overall light levels have been very poor in the past fortnight. It's been seriously dim, grey, dank and gloomy and not very pleasant to tell the truth.  But in the past few days, there have been little pockets of light to be found :: mostly it's been the early morning and early evening when the sunlight has managed to penetrate the dense grey clouds, and oh, I have appreciated it! Tiny little patches of lightness at either end of the day's greyness which have lifted my spirits enormously.

Thinking about my view :: these views from the Attic were taken yesterday morning, around 8am. Of course we ended up with another dull, grey cloudy day, but the start of it at least was quite breathtaking, if only for a very short while.

Thinking about my breakfast :: I've taken to eating my breakfast outside this week. It's been cold and fresh, and I've really felt the need for cold, fresh air first thing in the morning. It clears my head and revives me a little after what has often been a very restless night for me and Bump24. We are not sleeping great, me and the Bump, our nights are a whole load of blurrgghh. Yet I am surprisingly OK with it.

Thinking about my back yard :: my view across the breakfast bowl is not especially inspiring right now...my summer flowers are more or less over, and then there's that wall look, the wall which I had fully intended (but failed) to paint during the summer months. Love my watering can though, don't you?

 

Thinking about my feet :: I'm still wearing my crocs, sometimes with bare feet and sometimes with socks. I did try one day last week to go and buy some sensible winter shoes, but rather embarrassingly I found I could no longer bend down enough across the expanse of Bump24 to actually get the shoes onto my feet. The poor shoe shop assistant (a trendy young man with sculpted spiky hair, it was that kind of shoe shop) was not sure whether to laugh, offer to help, or run away. In the end it was me who ran away, and so my crocs are still having to carry me about. I think this winter I'll have to wear crocs in dry weather and wellies in wet weather :: not ideal, but what can one do when ones tummy is the size of a small house?

 

Thinking about my neighbourhood :: we went to our local park, me and the Little People, at the very end of one day this week (think it was Wednesday?) Me on foot (in my crocs) and the LP on two wheels :: you can see Little Lady in the above picture, a little dot-on-wheels zooming down the grassy slope.

 

Thinking about the end-of-day :: the light was beautiful at the end of this day, around 5pm or so. Long, golden shadows and full-on Autumnal-ness, a welcome respite from the grey.

Thinking about my Little People :: I ambled along, watching the Little People cycle, swing, climb, run, enjoying the great outdoors. I enjoyed Them enormously during this late Autumn afternoon, enjoyed their energy, their lust for life, the way they make me feel so proud just to be a Mummy-in-the-park.

Thinking about the Sun :: I really, truly, completely appreciated the Sunlight during this hour at the park. Tried to breathe it in and hold on to it. The sun has been such a rare sight during this past fortnight, hiding out behind all the greyness.

Thinking about Where I'm At :: this month seems to be rollicking by at such a rate that I often find myself almost feeling out of breath with it. Can it really be Pumpkin Day tomorrow?? Already? The last day of October already?? Tomorrow I will be twenty-eight weeks pregnant, moving into the third trimester. Can it really be so??

There is much to be done in the Attic24 household in the next few weeks, and I am simultaneously horrified and excited by the prospect of it. I really need to apply myself wholeheartedly to the business of Nesting. Of tidying, sorting, clearing, organising, painting, sewing, prettifying and homemaking.

So I'm telling you this now cos it may well become a little bit more Erratic-in-the-Attic in the next week or two, and I don't want you to worry about me if I'm suddenly absent.

I'll be Nesting.

And Nesting is Good.

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Bits of my Day

Hello.....how you doing today?? Better than me I hope?! I'm having a bit of an odd-bod week to tell you the truth, feeling a little out of sorts with myself, a little jittery and all over the place. Its that ric-rac Tangle inside my head that's doing it, I have an unbelievable amount of ideas, thoughts, inspirations, desires, and things-to-do squiggling around up there at the moment, it's all in quite a mess. I need to find time to sit myself down and begin some serious de-tangling before I drive myself potty.

I'm sorry that I don't seem capable of being very wordy or coherent at the moment, but I can always do pictures. Yes, pictures do seem to happen more easily than sentences on days when the Tangle is bad.

Here are some simple snapshots from today, the little Bits-of-my-Day that have given me pleasure......

:: the early morning sky bits ::

:: the walking-to-school bits ::

:: the Friday market visiting bits ::

:: the coffee-and-cake bits ::

:: the pretty floral bits ::

:: the itty-bitty wooly bits ::

:: the creative hooky bits ::

:: the decorative baking bits ::

:: the inspirational booky bits ::

:: the stripy snuggly bits ::

Here's hoping you've enjoyed some happy, colourful little Bits of your Day too.

Happy Friday to you, see you next week....

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Afternoon Pondering

 

This afternoon I was thinking about you all.

I was thinking that I would really like to find a way of sending you all my Heartfelt Thanks. Thanks for everything you have said to me of late, thanks for all the warm words of encouragement and reassurance you've sent my way. But I can't think quite how to send you my thanks, the words just don't seem to be enough. But words is all I have to give you right now. Well, words and pictures that is. So the above picture is for you, by means of a humble Thank You. Please accept it with my love and gratitude.

 

I've had a quiet, reflective kind of a day today, and it's been rather lovely to have time and space to sit and ponder and kind of take stock of things a little, if that makes sense. I find this time of year makes me instinctively do this, I remember the feeling well from last September. I have a lot of things on my mind right now, practical things, creative things, oh ooooodles of things! My thoughts feel rather like a big tangled ball of ric rac :: quite pretty and with potential, but completely useless in it's tangled state.

The weather has been bright and breezy today and I spent a little time sat in the Attic window seat earlier, watching the sunlight moving across the hills. It seemed to me to be an especially beautiful afternoon, and distinctly Autumnal it has to be said.

The sunlight in the back yard this afternoon was also rather lovely, sort of low and slanting and golden. Due to the weather, this little outdoor space of ours has not had a great deal of use throughout the summer months. Well thats to say we've eaten very few meals at the outside table, but oh I have enjoyed my pots of flowers very very much this year. I've loved popping out there most mornings, chatting to my modest little blooms and enjoying the glorious colour.

I'm continuing to deadhead the flowers and hope to be enjoying them for another month or two yet. I'd also like to plant up some pots of bulbs this Autumn time, which is something I always have great excitement for every year, but am rarely organised enough to actually do it.

We shall see if I manage it this year, I'm not making any promises you know. Depends if I can untangle the ric-rac-ness of my thoughts and actually turn those thoughts into a reality. You know, Make Things Happen. I'm not very good at that on the whole.

 

I am rather good at sitting and pondering and drinking tea in the afternoons though. I can certainly Make That Happen.

And rather lovely it was too.

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The Perfect Project

Attic24, my precious little patch of Blogland, is now 18 months old, and during that time I sure have shared a lot of stuff with you all. Oooooodles of it.

Scattered across the weeks and months and seasons there have been hundreds upon hundreds of photographs, thousands upon thousands of words. Over three hundred posts have made the journey from my rather scatty brain and out into cyberspace to reach you.

And in return, you have repaid me with your own words. Oooooodles of them. Over eleven and a half thousand comments to date, each and every one of them read and enjoyed. Yes, it's a time consuming job these days, but I promise you I do read each and every word you write to me. Always. And I am always thrilled to hear from you each and every day, whatever you have to say, I read your words and smile and feel thankful for your friendship and enthusiasm. It touches my heart, makes me very happy indeed.

Anyhow....to the point....(don't I just ramble on sometimes, do forgive me)....

You may remember sometime last week, at the end of this post, that I showed you an armful of rather scrumptious looking yarn?? And remember I told you that there was a Story behind it? Well today The Story unfolds.

See that fantastically wrapped parcel up above there, with its jaunty striped paper? Well it was sent to me all the way from the US, by a most lovely lady called Emily. Now I've never met Emily, and she has never met me. Yet through the fantastical world of Blogland, she pops in to "see" me most days in the Attic and as a result wished to send me "a little something" by means of a thank you.

It still seems a little unreal to me, that someone would wish to thank me for doing what I dearly love, ie blathering on day after day about my rather ordinary ideas and thoughts, experiences and excitements. But there you have it. I am not one to argue with the world of Blog and all the generous delights that it brings.

But oh. My. Goodness. This perfectly wrapped gift was Generosity on an unknown scale for me. Opening this box was like stepping in to my own personal fantasy world! So many beautiful colours and textures and ribbon-wrapped goodies!!!

There was much gasping. Much exclaiming. Much oh-my-goodnes-ing. It was utterly overwhelming, in the best sort of way possible. I do believe I swooned a little.
 
 

Emily's parcel contained a couple of fabulous crochet books...

...haberdashery of the most delectable kind...

....but bestest of all it contained yarn.

Fabulous, scrumptious, delicious, heart-skippy yarn.

In the most amazing colours.

This is yarn that I've never encountered before, a chunky merino wool that is wooly, yet adorably soft. Oh, sooooooooooooooo Soft!!!!!

Words cannot describe how this yarn feels to the touch, it is an utter delight.

I've lost count of the number of times that I've scooped this yarn up and carried around the house with me, not wanting to put it down. It just begs to be cuddled, to be loved and adored and fondled. And I have loved doing just that.

But eventually the skeins of yarn were wound into balls (a delightful job that J and I shared one Sunday afternoon), and my bag was once again full of yarny goodness, waiting patinetly for a project.

But not any old project.

Oh no no no...it had to be the Perfect Project.

I did not want to rush it.

I pondered it.

I continued to cuddle-love-adore-and-fondle the yarn.

Pondered some more.

Considered a scarf.

Decided against.

And then.......I HAD IT!!!!!!!!!!!

The most Perfect Project suddenly sprang to mind.

The time was right.

It would be Perfect.

I emailed Emily straight away to tell her of my plans, and she was as excited as I was.

And so, a few weeks ago, I embarked on my Perfect Project and began to crochet...........

...........a ripple blanket.

I sat in bed with BB one morning and began to ripple.

Ripple ripple, ripple ripple.

Delicious.

The more I rippled ,the more I fell in love with the yarn and the colours.

Did I tell you how soft this yarn is??

How cuddly and lovable and adorable it is to work with?

It's just fabulous.

Perfect even.

Perfect yarn for the Perfect Project.

The above photo was taken this morning, and I would say I am almost half way there with this ripply project.

But oohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Silly me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I haven't actually told you what the Perfect Project actually is, have I?

What these ripply ripples are to become?????

Well.........a blanket thats what.

A ripply blanket.

But not another Big Blanket, thats for sure, cos this one is much smaller.

A small, neat kind of blanket.

Neat and baby-sized.

Yes, I am making my first ever baby blanket......................

 

..............for an Attic24 Baby.

Like I say, the Perfect Project.

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Edited to add :: more details to follow, I am quite overwhelmingly emotional at the moment, so will tell you more very soon I promise. I just can't manage it today!

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Comfort

Good morning my lovelies, and thanks for dropping by. You doin' OK? I wonder what the weather's like today where you are?
Here in my patch it is wet-wet-wet. Grey and wet. Rainy and wet. Puddly and wet. I made the school run wearing an old raincoat and (stubbornly) still wearing my crocs, and consequently returned home feeling a little damp and sodden. My raincoat leaked making my shoulders wet and soggy. My feet got wet (quite understandable really, as there are a lot of holes in Crocs), as did the bottom of my too-long jeans.

It's OK though, I do quite like summer rain providing I'm not expected to picnic/camp/party in it. But the lack of light levels and the heavy, misty greyness that has settled across the landscape is rather dismal. In fact, today I'm finding myself in real need of Comfort. I am not expecting to do a great deal today. I'm having a moochy stay-home day. I've taken my soggy outdoor clothes off and have put on some rather unattractive but supremely comfy baggy jersey bottoms and a soft (dry) cosy jumper. Pink fluffy slippers have been dragged out from under the bed.
Right-oh, I am Dressed for Comfort :: bring it on.
First up is a mug of frothy chocolate-dusted coffee.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

This morning my crochet is still in situ after last nights little hooky session, the blanket laid out on the floor like an elaborate rug. I need to lay it out like this so that I can check the colour choices as I complete and join each block. I'm part way through block number 31 (only 5 more to go after this one, yiipppeeeeeeeee!!) and although I very rarely crochet during the day (excepting on knit and natter cafe days) today I am allowing myself the pleasure.
I feel the need.
Don't try and stop me.

As I was waiting for my coffee machine to warm up this morning, and while I was still wearing wet, soggy school-run clothes, I grabbed some scissors and nipped outside to snip a few blooms to bring indoors.
Five to be precise.
Snip-snip-snip-snip-snip.

Such beautiful, vibrant flowers, laden with rain drops.
Cosmos, cape daisy, marigold, marguerite and verbena.
Pink, purple, orange, yellow red.



I popped them into my little old ink bottle and put them on the coffee table amongst all my crochet paraphernalia while I went to make coffee.
When I walked back into the room, it really struck me how beautifully these little summer flowers match the colours of my Summer Garden blanket. How I must have held the memory of just such a posy of flowers in my mind on that cold day in January when I drew up the design and purchased the yarn for this project.
Love that.

Ok, so :: comfy clothes, frothy coffee, fresh flowers, crochet....what else is missing from my Day of Comfort??
Ahh yes, of course.....reading material and edible material....

I wonder how many of you have had your hands on this months divine copy of Country Living magazine (the UK version)?? Its the August issue, and Oh, My. Goodness, WHAT an issue this is!!!!!! I finally found my Perfect CL Moment on Sunday morning and I practically hyperventilated my way through the whole thing. It's the most gorgeous, inspiring, colourful, mood-enhancing collection of pages I've had the pleasure of gazing at in quite a while. Total happiness from cover to cover. As you can see by my copy above, it has been very well thumbed through, I have looked at it over and over and over again.
And will be inside those pages again in a very short while I expect.

Finally, the edible element of today.....chocolate, sweeeeeeeeeet chocolate!

I was not intending to actually eat this chocolate you understand, rather I bought it as an essential ingredient in the Caramel Shortbread recipe I mentioned to you on Friday.
I was thinking that if I had time amongst my intended crocheting, flower-gazing, magazine strolling activities, I might do a spot of baking this afternoon.
For you.
Because I promised you the recipe and I cannot possibly give you the recipe without some accompanying photographs.
Which means I need to bake in order to photograph the baking.
And needing to bake, meant the necessary purchase of ingredients.
Silly thing is though, that I've just realised that the recipe calls for 140g of chocolate and I had a bit of a memory lapse in the supermarket this morning (must have been the sogginess in my trousers that did it) and bought a 230g bar by mistake.
Damn and blast.
That means I've got 90g of spare chocolate hanging around.
Ah well, guess I'll just have to deal with it, all part of a days work eh?

Enjoy the little Comforts of your own day my friends, whether rain or shine.
Treat yourself kindly.
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Rosy Outlook

Hello my lovelies....how you doin'?
Well it's been a whole week since I last came to sit in my scruffy little cosy Attic space to chat a while with you all, and honestly, I've missed it.
You may (or may not) have perhaps noticed that my blogging voice has been struggling a little of late, that there has not been the usual, regular blurb of words streaming from the Attic Monday-to-Friday. In fact, it has been down right Erratic in the Attic recently hasn't it? Yes, Attic24 has become Erratic24. Deary me, it has certainly not been intentional.
All I can tell you is that my personal life has been extremely topsy-turvy during this past month or so. I have tried hard to retain my Rosy Outlook, to blog when I've been able, but it has not been easy. Please don't feel sorry for me, I am OK now I promise, and I do believe the worst is hopefully behind me now.
And oh I have missed you all! I've hardly been visiting with anyone at all in Blogland, just bobbing in here and there when I've been in the mood. But like I say, I feel in my heart that I am back on the up again and yaaaayyyyyy I am So Glad!!

My fresh flowers for this week are these utterly delectable bright pink Roses. I am quite smitten with them, especially as they have a beautiful, subtle rosy scent which is unusual for shop bought roses I find. I am suffering with hayfever at the moment too, but it doesn't stop me sticking my entire face right into this bunch and sniffing and snorting that irresistible scent. And then sneezing aaaaChoOoOoOoOOooo.

I have a couple stems in the bathroom as well (which is STILL NOT FINISHED) and that pink colour looks absolutely delicious in there. Really yummy.

Well I've got oooodles of sewing to do this week, but have some lovely things to share with you too....so all being well, I shall make time to pop in and chat tomorrow. In fact, yes, I just remembered, I have something new and hooky to share with you tomorrow....so see you then....

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This Week

 

This week I have to confess I've been feeling rather low, and not my usual self at all. Nothing monumental to report, nothing dramatic or traumatic has happened, it's just the predictable humdrum of returning to domestic routine after a rather fandabidozy holiday.

I spent aaaaaaaaages the day before yesterday uploading images of Bruges to the blog to share with you, then simply ran out of time to actually write anything. Then yesterday, I had quite forgotten that J would be working from home and would therefore be in My Attic. All day. So I was forced to remain at home but away from my Attic24 Comfort Zone, which left me prowling round in the Messy Zone (ie the whole damn house) feeling all cross and grumpy and out of sorts. 

In fact, yesterday I was compelled to confront The Piles.

Yes, I managed to sort through two small piles of clutter (a mere teeny-tiny tip of a very large Clutter Iceberg in residence at number 24). The above crate (containing Little People art/craft/school work) is just one example of the teeny-tiny tip yet to be dealt with. Clutter is monumental in this house I tell you. MonUmENtal.

Oh yeah, yesterday I also managed to clear the coffee table too. 

And I managed to wash, peg, unpeg, fold and stack two loads of laundry.

I am still working my way through the post-holiday laundry actually, and wondering where it will ever end. How did we manage to wear and make dirty (absolutely filthy in some cases) so many items of clothing?? How?

And then there is the outside stuff ganging up on me too.

Just like last year, I am suddenly aware that it is now June and sadly too late to plant many of the seeds. These are, of course, seeds which are left over from last year when I also forgot to plant them in time. I can see a sad, sad pattern forming here.

My lovely big blue pot which last summer contained sweetpeas, is currently growing a healthy crop of robust weeds. I have not yet bought any plantlets to fill my pots and am finding the prospect of it all a little overwhelming. Too late to plant seeds and no available funds to buy plants either. oh Poop.

Then there is the grass in my teeny front garden......oooo about 10 inches high would you say? In need of a trim then possibly. I'll add it to the list of chores.

 

Ahhhh you know what, I am missing my family quite a lot this week too. After spending pretty much 24/7 with them last week, I miss those 3 pairs of feet accompanying mine.

 

Awwwww I am so so sorry that this post has turned out to be a somewhat downhearted, self-indulgent whinge-fest. I am so sorry folks, I know you come here to feel uplifted and happy and probably don't expect to find me moaning and groaning at you. But hey, you know, I'm only human. And this blog is an honest record of daily life chez-moi, which mostly is buoyant and smiley and cheerful but very occasionally not. And today happens to be one of the Not days.

On a brighter note, this morning at the cafe, I finally finished frogging the white.

Yeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wanna see?

AAAhhhhhhhhhhh I am so relieved that the white has gone, it was most definitely the right decision to get rid.

And I've changed my mind yet again about the colours for the next rounds too :: not going to do blues, but random colours instead. After looking at the squares all laid out together, there is already a lot of control in the colour choices, and it all needs a little shaking up, a little more heat and zing. Yeah Heat and Zing, bring it on!

But for now I am slightly stuck because I have run out of yarn.

And I have run out of money to buy yarn.

And even if I did have the money, my car is caput and refusing to start so I cannot drive the eight miles to the yarn shop anyway.

So I have not been able to crochet for over a week now, which is not helping the mood around these parts.

Right, I need to scoot off now and go do more laundry, and try to work out what to cook for dinner with only tuppence-ha'penny in my purse and no food in the cupboards. What a pity you can't eat grass and weeds, this years crop is splendid don't you know.

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Today I am...

...tidying up the aftermath of yesterday's Birthday celebrations...

...marveling at how time can sometimes seem so slow, and yet so warp-speedy too...FIVE years old! How did that happen then??

 

...enjoying the excitement that a much-longed-for present can bring (pink Nintendo DS Lite)...

 

...thinking how wonderful it is that the old fashioned toys can still delight as much as the high-tech ones (beautiful china tea set, a present from my Mum, and cause of much squealing)...

...wishing that dark chocolate contained zero calories...

...loving that all the party rings didn't get scoffed yesterday, and I can enjoy one with my afternoon cuppa...

 

...catching the morning sun streaming across the table and lighting my crochet...

 

...smelling the scent of these gorgeous pinky-lilac hyacinths every time i walk into the room...

 

...hooking squares for my summer garden blanket and loving it all over again...

 

...feeling very touched at receiving a little surprise gift from a fellow knit-and-natterer...

...laughing at this image seen in "Lets Knit" magazine, and discovering the crazy antics of "Guerilla Knittas"...

...mmmmmm-ing my colourful *fresh* salad lunch...

...looking forward to strolling in the delightful pages of the summer issue magainzes...

Here's hoping that you too are loving, laughing, enjoying, thinking, catching, smelling, marveling, hooking, feeling, looking and mmmmmmm-ing with joy and abandon today......have fun!

xxx